Rest in peace, Adam Yauch. Believe me when I say that this post is hard to write. The very idea that you’ve been taken from us by cancer is bizarre and doesn’t quite compute.

You went from snotty punk to mature musical icon and filmmaker whilst somehow managing to get cooler as you got older. That’s quite a trick to pull off. You were part of a band who were inclusive, innovative and celebratory enough to get even a Grinch like me to shake my ass. The world is poorer for being robbed of your presence and I have lost an artist who (alongside Public Enemy) introduced me to hip-hop.

Go listen to “Ill Communication” today (or the Beasties cuts of your choice) and revel in how this band never stopped being awesome and always had their own identity.